Disney lost 700,000 subscribers to Disney+ by the end of 2024, but grew profits

The Disney entertainment group continues to increase its sales and profits. In the fourth quarter of 2024, it even exceeded analysts' forecasts. The Disney+ streaming service recorded a slight decline in subscribers, and Disney expects this trend to continue. Nevertheless, the Group is recording higher revenues, as average subscription prices have risen despite advertising subscriptions also being offered at lower prices.

Disney+ currently has 124.6 million subscribers worldwide. This is 700,000 fewer than three months ago – a decrease of 0.6 percent. The entertainment giant was even able to increase the number of subscriptions in North America by one percent, but around two percent of customers internationally have canceled their subscriptions. Disney expects this decline in subscription figures to continue in the current quarter. At the same time, the streaming service Hulu, which also belongs to the Group, increased its subscription figures by three percent to 53.6 million. By comparison, streaming market leader Netflix has 300 million subscribers.

Subscription prices for Disney+ continue to rise

The reason for the slight decline in subscription figures could be that the company has been taking action against account sharing on Disney+ since last fall. Higher subscription prices may also have played a role. While the global average price for a Disney+ subscription was 7.20 US dollars last year, it is now 7.55 dollars, according to Disney. This is an increase of five percent.

Company-wide, Disney was able to increase its revenue in the last quarter of 2024 by 4.8 percent year-on-year to 24.7 billion dollars. The operating profit of all company segments even increased by 30.5 percent to 5.1 billion dollars. This is attributed to the strategies of Disney CEO Robert Iger, who has recently stepped on the cost brakes and produced fewer expensive series and films from the “Star Wars” and Marvel worlds.

Higher income in all divisions

Virtually all parts of the company recorded higher revenues. While revenue in the entertainment division with film and TV productions and streaming rose by 9 percent to 10.87 billion dollars, the entertainment business with Disney's theme parks and cruise ships also increased again. Turnover here rose by 3 percent to 9.42 billion dollars. This surprised even Disney CFO Hugh Johnston, who admitted to CNBC that “the consumer is a little stronger than expected”.

For the current quarter, Disney expects a further slight decline in Disney+ subscriptions, but for the year as a whole, the operating result of the Group's entertainment division is expected to increase by a double-digit percentage. For the entertainment business with theme parks and cruise ships, Disney is forecasting an increase in operating income of between 6 and 8 percent.

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